Force, Mass and Acceleration

Front

Acceleration Noun

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[ak-sel-uh-rey-shuhn]

Back

Acceleration

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The rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time, representing any change in its motion.

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Example: Acceleration is a change in velocity. This can mean speeding up, slowing down (deceleration), or changing the direction of motion.

Front

Inertia Noun

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[in-ur-shuh]

Back

Inertia

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The property of an object to resist any change in its state of motion, whether at rest or moving.

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Example: A soccer ball at rest stays at rest until kicked, and a moving ball stays in motion until stopped by a force like a net.

Front

Mass Noun

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[mas]

Back

Mass

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A quantitative measure of an object's inertia, or the amount of matter contained within a physical body.

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Example: This diagram shows mass (m) in the formula F=ma, defining it as a scalar quantity measured in kilograms (kg) that relates force and acceleration.

Front

Force Noun

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[fohrs]

Back

Force

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An interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object; essentially a push or a pull.

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Example: This image shows that a force is a push or a pull, demonstrating two ways to apply force to move an object.

Front

Net Force Noun

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[net fohrs]

Back

Net Force

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The vector sum of all the individual forces acting upon an object, which determines the object's acceleration.

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Example: This image shows that when multiple forces pull an object in the same direction, they add together to create a larger single force, the net force.

Front

Momentum Noun

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[moh-men-tuhm]

Back

Momentum

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The quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as the product of its mass and its velocity.

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Example: When a moving car stops suddenly, a box on top continues to move forward because its momentum (a property of its mass and velocity) resists the change in motion.

Front

Third-Law Pair Noun

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[thurd-law pair]

Back

Third-Law Pair

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The two equal and opposite action-reaction forces that arise from the direct interaction between two objects.

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Example: When a person pushes on a wall (action force), the wall pushes back on the person with an equal and opposite force (reaction force).

Front

System Noun

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[sis-tuhm]

Back

System

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A collection of objects chosen for study that are coupled together either mechanically or through a common interaction.

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Example: The Earth and Moon form a system where the objects interact through the force of gravity, causing the Moon to orbit the Earth.

Front

Free-Body Diagram Noun

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[free-bod-ee dahy-uh-gram]

Back

Free-Body Diagram

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A graphical illustration used to visualize all the forces acting upon a single object or a designated system.

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Example: This image simplifies a book on a table into a dot, showing the forces acting on it: gravity (mg) pulling down and the normal force (N) pushing up.

Front

Statics Noun

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[stat-iks]

Back

Statics

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The branch of mechanics concerned with the analysis of balanced forces on objects or systems that are at rest.

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Example: This image shows a tug-of-war at a standstill. The equal and opposite forces (arrows) are balanced, resulting in no movement (zero acceleration).